The invention relates to the field of organ transplantation.
Technical advances in allogeneic organ transplantation and the availability of nonspecific immunosuppressive agents have revolutionized the field of organ transplantation. This progress has, however, resulted in a shortage of essential organs of suitable size and match.
The shortage of allograft-organs has led to an increased interest in xenogeneic transplantation. It was demonstrated more than twenty-five years ago that transplants from chimpanzee to man could provide long-term life-supporting function. However, the use of non-human primates as an organ source is of limited applicability. Many primate species are scarce and protected, and those that are more plentiful, such as the baboon, often do not grow to a size which allows the use of their organs in adults. Moreover, in some cultures, the use of primates as a source of organs is ethically unacceptable.
Some of these difficulties could be resolved by use of ungulate organs, especially pig organs. Pigs are domesticated, easy to breed, have large litters, and grow rapidly to the size which allow the use of their organs in the very largest human beings. In addition, pig and man have many anatomical and physiological similarities. However, transplantation of a pig organ into a human results in a vigorous rejection of the graft-organ.